Venus Under Fire
by itgirl25
Summary: A new halfblood comes to camp and wants to prove there's more to being a daughter of Aphrodite than just owning loads of designer perfume. And find out what happens when a son of Hades and a daughter of Aphrodite collide. NicoxOc  Not centered on romance
1. AN please read : short i swear

A/N: I do not own anything or anyone except Ali. The setting is one year after TLO and I made Nico the same age as Percy


	2. Thrown out of bed

Percy Jackson woke up to rough shaking.

"Percy"

Percy groaned, eyes still shut "5-5 more minutes"

"PERCY, WAKE UP!"

Percy opened his eyes when he was pushed out of bed. He yelped in pain as he landed awkwardly on the floor of his cabin. He looked up and saw Annabeth, already in training gear, staring down at him.

"Okay, what gives?" he asked as he slowly got up, rubbing his back. He glanced at the clock "It's 5:30 in the morning"

" Grover's back-" Annabeth started, folding her arms over her chest

"Great.. but you woke me up for that?"

"-With news from Rachel" Annabeth finished

Percy stopped rubbing his back "Where is he?"

5 minutes later, Percy and Annabeth burst into the big house. They found Grover sitting at the table with Chiron and Nico. Chiron stopped talking as they walked towards the table.

"Ah, Percy.. Good morning"

"Not if you were pushed out of bed.." Percy muttered, he caught Annabeth's eye and changed the subject "What's up? Annabeth said something about Rachel"

"We were just discussing that" Chiron said "Please, take a seat"

Annabeth sat down next to Chiron while Percy took the seat in between Nico and Grover. As he sat down he patted Grover on the back.

"Sup man"

Grover smiled at him "Hey, Perce"

Percy turned to Nico "Why are you up so early?"

Nico shrugged but smiled "Morning walk"

"Dude" Percy shook his head "you are so weird"

Chiron cleared his throat "Well, Grover.. I think it would be best if you began your tail now". Gorver nodded then took a deep breath.

"As you guys know, I've been travelling non-stop for the last 4 months searching for half bloods and attending to matters of the wild. So far, I've met other protectors leading kids back to camp but I haven't found any on my own. I knew the start of camp was nearing so I decided to turn back to give Chiron and the council my report when I found myself in New York.. and I ran into Rachel. She told me she found a half blood at her school"

"Wait, what?" Percy said "At her finishing school? A half blood?"

Grover nodded "I asked her how she could be sure and she said there is this one girl who she saw running out of the woods surrounding her school. She didn't think anything of it at first until-"

"She saw a monster" Annabeth finished, nodding "Has she talked to the girl?"

Grover nodded "She told the girl about camp and everything but she's not sure if the girl will come"

"Why not?" Nico asked

"She didn't say why" Grover finished

"We must find a way to convince her if she does not" Chiron said, lacing his fingers on the table "Every halfblood is valuable"

Grover nodded

"So.. this girl might be coming with Rachel when she comes back here?"

Grover nodded

Percy yawned "man, it's a good thing the news isn't something bad.. when is the start of camp, again?"

Annabeth threw him a reproachful look "today, seaweed brain"

Percy almost fell out of his chair "no way"

Chiron smiled "Indeed, that means we have a lot to do today. Grover, you should get some rest and prepare for the council meeting later. Percy, Nico, Annabeth.. its time for wake up duty. We must get ready before the new campers arrive"

Percy groaned as he got up and followed Nico and Annabeth out of the big house.


	3. Alithia Suzanne Locard

Rachel Dare stood out in the driveway of Clarion's Academy, leaning against the white limo that would be taking her to camp, or at least, as near to the camp as it could get.

She heard a door open and moments later, the driver was at her side "Miss Dare, I am very sorry but I am on a schedule.. your father will be expecting me back by 3 p.m."

Rachel looked at him and nodded "Let's get going then, Bernard" The driver nodded then opened the back door for her. Rachel was about to get in when she heard the clacking of heels on a pavement floor.

"Rachel! Rachel, wait!"

Rachel looked around and smiled at the owner of the voice. The girl was about 5'3'', she had brown hair and equally brown eyes. She had a slender body that was decked out in head to toe designer goods and she was pulling 2 Gucci stroller bags.

"Coming to camp, Ali?"

Ali sighed and handed her bags to the driver

"Rather that then.. you know"

Rachel nodded. She let Ali get into the car and slid in next to her. Seconds later, they were driving out of the school grounds. Rachel pressed the button so that the division between the driver's end of the car and the back rose up. She then turned to Ali who was staring out the window.

"So you'd rather go to camp then get-"

"Chased by monsters every other day? Yeah" Ali said, turning to look at Rachel "My dad wasn't happy when I called him. He wanted me to go to the Bahamas with him"

Rachel nodded "What does your father do?"

"Have you heard of 7 palms?"

"The resort?" Rachel said "Yes I have. There's one in Malibu, My family stayed there once. And I know there's another one in Hawaii-"

"One in the Bahamas and a bunch of others around Asia" Ali finished

Rachel's eyes widened "No way. Your dad owns 7 palms?"

"Yes" Ali answered, she looked out the window again "So this camp.. what's so special about it?"

"Everything. You'll love it there.. I promise"

"Are the people there… like me?" Ali asked, not breaking her gaze from the window.

"Yes" Rachel replied, touching her arm gently "And you'll be safe there. It'll be fun, I swear"

Ali turned to look at her and she smiled "You better hope so, Dare"

Rachel laughed "It will, I promise!"

Ali rolled her eyes but kept smiling "Dragging me off to the middle of the woods to be with strange people I don't know. Honestly, Dare…"

Rachel lightly pinched her "be nice, ok?"

Ali slapped her hand away "Hey, stop that! And I am always nice"

This time, Rachel rolled her eyes "Yeah, and I'm Zeus"


	4. It's in the morning

"I'm not entirely sure we should do this" Percy said, anxiously

"It's the only way to solve our problem" Annabeth pressed

"Yeah, don't be scared" Nico's slightly taunting voice came

"I am not scared" Percy said as Annabeth held out her hand. Clasped in it were 3 sticks.

"Whoever pulls out the shortest has to wake the Ares cabin" She repeated the rules again to Nico and Percy. Waking the Ares cabin was not a job desired by many, the sons and daughters of the war god were not known for being morning people.

Percy drew a breath and reached for one stick, Nico did the same. They pulled at the same time as Annabeth held onto the last one.

Nico grinned as he looked at their sticks "Sorry, Perce"

Annabeth laughed "Go get them, tiger"

Percy threw his stick on the ground "Clarisse is gonna kill me"

"Let's not delay that, shall we?" Nico said, thumping him on the back "It's nearly 7. IF we don't hurry, Mr. D will have our heads"

Percy sighed as Nico steered him towards the cabins, Annabeth walking in front of them.

Percy Jackson would rather have taken on a Hydra.

He would have chosen to go one-on-one with Medusa.

Gladly would he have jumped into battle against a Minotaur.

Anything. He would have done just anything to avoid the task he was now facing. Gulping, he looked down at Clarisse as she slept; mouth slightly open and snoring. He cleared his throat quietly.

"Err.. Clarisse?"

The daughter of Ares let out something between a groan and a grumble and flipped positions on her bunk. Percy looked around hastily to see if any of the other Ares campers had woken. Nothing. They all still lay on their bunks, filling the cabin with snores and grunts and occasional talking (that made it seem that they were all dreaming of threatening the other campers).

Percy turned back to his target and reached for the edge of her blanket. He lightly tugged, shaking her slightly.

"Clarisse… Chiron says to get up"

Still nothing.

"Talk about sleeping like a rock" Percy muttered. Sighing, he glanced around at the cabin door, wondering if he should just leave and tell Chiron that waking up the Ares cabin was a job for someone much more qualified than him. One of the harpies perhaps.

Deciding that he would do exactly that, he turned back to readjust Clarisse's blanket. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened as Clarisse stared up at him, eyes bloodshot.

"clar-"

"!"

It only took Clarisse a second to do what Percy had been trying for minutes; to wake the entire Ares cabin.

"What the HELL is going on?"

"It's 7 a.m. in the morning!"

"Turn of that racket!"

"Who got Clarisse?"

Percy swallowed as Clarisse threw the covers back and stood up, glaring at him. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were puffy, and she was in an old tracksuit. Seeing her like this frightened Percy even more than when she was in battle gear.

"Uh… rise and shine?" Percy smiled

"GET HIM!" Clarisse bellowed to her rising cabin mates.


	5. At a glance

Ali huffed, dragging her two suitcases across the dirt path as she walked further into the forest with Rachel.

"Rachel… where the hell is this camp?"

Rachel looked around, her duffle bag in one hand, and smiled encouragingly "Just a few more minutes"

Ali stopped walking and put her hands on her hips "Rach, that's what you said when the limo dropped us off in the middle of nowhere"

"Nowhere is a bit too much, isn't it?" a voice above said.

Rachel and Ali jumped and looked up. A boy about 18 sat on one of the large branches of a tree. He was in dark denim pants, beat up black chucks, and a black hoodie.

"Hi Nico" Rachel said "What are you doing out of camp?"

Nico shrugged, giving them one of his coy smiles. He looked at Ali.

"New friend, Rachel?"

"New friend's name is Ali" Ali said, crossing her arms over her chest as Nico jumped down from the tree. Ali's eyes widened as he landed right in front of her.

"How did yo-?"

"Son of Hades" Nico said, brushing past her "And a good jumper"

Ali followed him with her eyes until he disappeared around some trees. She looked at Rachel and cleared her throat.

"Show off"

Rachel smiled "Come on, camp's just around the corner"


	6. AN : shorty shorty

Hello! I apologize for the very short chapters I have been putting up but it's finals week and I really need to study

I'll be posting a brand new chapter on Friday and this time, I promise it will be longer and more detailed.

THANKS FOR READING AND COMMENTING!


	7. Of ice bag's and bruises

Percy winced as Annabeth held the ice bag to the small bruise under his left eye. They were sitting on the steps of the big house after that morning's …err… fiasco.

"It's not that bad" Annabeth said as she examined the bruise. Percy groaned "Seriously, I did not know you could get a bruise from being hit with a pillow" He reached a hand up to take the ice bag from her and their hands brushed each others slightly. Their eyes met before Annabeth looked away, blushing and Percy coughed to cover up his embarrassment.

"Well…" Annabeth turned back to him, cheeks still red "It was Clarisse who was holding the pillow"

She was trying to change the topic. Percy was grateful and went along with it. They might be "seeing" each other technically but dating was new to both of them and neither of them was sure about what the next step should be after you've agreed to "like liking" someone.

They were in the middle of discussing what summer activities Chiron had planned for them when Nico appeared from the other side of the big house, whistling.

"Where did you come from?" Percy asked, lowering the ice bag putting it down on the porch next to him "After you woke up the Hermes and Apollo cabins, you just disappeared"

Nico looked at his bruise and smiled a bit "Clarisse got you, huh?"

"Hey man-"Percy started but Annabeth cut him off as she addressed Nico

"Have you been outside, again?"

Nico didn't answer as he leaned casually against the railing of the porch steps. Annabeth frowned.

"Nico, we aren't supposed to leave camp"

"I was just taking a walk-"

"What is it with you and walks?" Percy demanded

"-I didn't go too far" Nico continued as if Percy hadn't spoken "And I ran into Rachel"

"Rachel?" Percy repeated

"Did she have the half-blood with her?" Annabeth asked

Nico nodded, running a hand through his dark hair.

Percy and Annabeth looked at each other then back to him.

"WELL?"

"Well what?" Nico asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"What is she like?" Annabeth asked

"What does she LOOK like?" Percy asked at the same time

"PERCY!"

Nico, Annabeth and Percy looked up and saw a familiar red head running towards them, duffle bag in one hand. Annabeth and Percy stood up. No sooner had they done so when Rachel flung her arms around Percy.

Annabeth's eye twitched a bit. She caught Nico's eye. He smiled and shook his head.

_Don't be jealous_

Annabeth took a deep breath and smiled as Rachel let go of Percy and turned to her

"Annabeth!" Rachel smiled, also hugging the slightly stunned daughter of Athena "I missed you!"

"Really?" Percy asked, smiling as the 2 girls broke apart.

Somewhere in the grounds, a horn sounded, signaling the morning assembly.

"Grover told us about the half-blood you found" Annabeth said "Where is she?"

"Oh, She's with Chiron" Rachel answered as she and Annabeth began walking together towards the dinning pavilion "We met him at the entrance"

Percy watched them walk away before he turned to Nico.

"You coming?"

Nico nodded then walked towards Percy. He threw an arm around Percy's shoulder, a habit he had become fond of doing ever since he caught up to Percy's height, as they walked in silence. As they passed the cabins, Percy cleared his throat.

"So… this new half-blood…. What do you think?"

"what do you mean?"

"I mean… Clarion's is an ALL girl's school, right?" Percy continued

"Yeah…. So?" Nico replied, not quite sure where this conversation was going.

"So the new half-blood IS a girl, right?" Percy answered, a smile creeping up to his face.

"I don-" Nico stopped, finally getting it. He looked at Percy with the silly grin on his face and laughed "No way, man"

"What'd you mean; NO WAY?" Percy asked, laughing

Nico, still smiling, shoved him away "NO as in NO"

"Not your type?" Percy asked, grinning as reached the entrance of the Mess Hall where the campers were gathering to welcome the new "recruits".

Nico smiled but didn't answer as he entered the hall.


	8. Watch him like a hawk

A/N: thank you for all the comments! Please keep reading!

As she and Rachel entered the mess hall, Annabeth glanced behind her to see if Nico and Percy were following. Sure enough, they were.

She felt Rachel tug on her hand

"There she is!"

Annabeth turned to the direction Rachel was nodding at. Through the crowd of campers, Annabeth spotted a girl who looked about the same age as her. She had brown hair that fell in big waves around her oval face. Her brown eyes complimented her tan-ish skin. The girl was dressed in a dark blue shirt dress that fell just above her knees, black leggings, and blue 3-inch heels. Annabeth wasn't surprised to see 2 Gucci stroller bags next to her.

The girl caught Annabeth staring at her and they locked eyes. Annabeth thought the girl would start throwing a fit (she seemed like the type who would) but the girl's eyes fell on Rachel.

"RACH!" the girl said, motioning for Rachel to come close. Rachel grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her forward with her.

"Wait" Annabeth said, pulling back a little "Maybe-"

"Awww, come on Annabeth" Rachel pushed "I want you to meet her"

Annabeth sighed "But…. Oh, Fine"

Rachel smiled and led Annabeth to where the girl was standing.

"Annabeth this is Rachel, Rachel this is Annabeth" Rachel grinned as she introduced them to each other.

Annabeth stuck out her hand

"I'm Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena"

Ali shook her hand. Annabeth noticed her nails were long and hot pink.

"I'm Ali Locard"

"Do you know who your parents are?" Annabeth asked

"Uh, yeah" Ali said in what Rachel called her "duh" voice "My dad is a business man and my mom is a socialite"

Annabeth's brow furrowed "No step parent?"

"Well… my mom is my step-mom" Ali answered in a slightly softer voice "She isn't my biological mom but she is to me. My dad said my real mom abandoned me and my dad when I was still a baby… barely two months actually"

Annabeth and Rachel exchanged uncomfortable glances.

"Annabeth" a voice behind Ali said "Chiron says to get everyone settled down"

Ali spun around and found herself face to face with Nico.

"He says the welcome is about to start" Nico continued addressing Annabeth but keeping his eyes on Ali.

"Got it" Annabeth said as she turned and walked towards her cabin mates, leaving Rachel, Nico, and Ali alone.

"Ali…. Right?" Nico asked, eyes locked onto hers

Ali crossed her arms over her chest "Tree jumping boy"

Nico smiled a bit "We've barely had 2 conversations and you already have a nickname for me?"

Ali rolled her eyes and walked pass him "Why don't you jump of another tree?"

Nico laughed a bit, turning to watch her walk away.

"It's Nico by the way"

Ali glanced back at him shortly before walking over to where Chiron was beckoning her.

Nico, still smiling, turned back to Rachel. Rachel had a knowing look on her face.

"What?" Nico asked, stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

Rachel smiled as she started walking to where Ali and Chiron were.

"I'm watching you, Di Angelo"


	9. Anyone but her

Chiron smiled at Ali as she approached him.

"I see you've been making friends"

Ali gave him a small smile "I guess… uhm, Chiron?"

The centaur nodded for her to continue

Ali glanced around the pavilion before looking back at him "I'm not sure I belong here"

"My dear, all half-blood's belong here" Chiron smiled at her

"Yeah but they're all so…" Ali said "I mean, I always knew I was different… Being chased by monsters only I could see assured me of that. But a demigod? Me?"

"I take it your father has never talked to you about your real mother before"

Ali swallowed. If there was one topic she hated discussing, it was her "real" mother.

"No" She answered shortly, completely unaware that Chiron was now looking not at her eyes but above her head and that the dinning pavilion had just gone quiet, "He just said she abandoned us. Honestly, that's all I need to know. Is she left us, I don't really care about knowing who she is"

"Well, my dear" Chiron said "I think she is interested in you"

He pointed above her head. Ali looked up.

Hanging above her head was a pink orb with a gold heart in the middle.

She looked around the pavilion, all eyes were on her, then back at Chiron.

"What's going on?"

"Alithra, you have just been claimed" Chiron said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder "You are a daughter of Aphrodite"

Half an hour later, Ali threw herself down her bunk in the Aphrodite cabin. She had joined her new siblings at the Aphrodite table, been introduced to Carmen Garcia, a tall Spanish girl who was Aphrodite's head councilor, and been shown into the Aphrodite cabin.

"Hey"

Ali sat up and found Carmen leaning against the doorway of the girl's room.

"Hey" Ali said, swinging her feet over the edge of her bunk. Carmen crossed the room and sat down next to her.

"I can tell you're not exactly happy about being an Aphrodite camper"

"No, you guys are great" Ali said, looking at Carmen, "It's just… Aphrodite's my mother?"

Carmen smiled and put an arm around Ali "I know you resent her for abandoning you but I'm sure you'll understand why"

"Why then?"

"I can't answer that, Ali" Carmen replied gently "We've all have our bad share of experiences when it comes to our immortal parents… But we can't hate them because of what they were made to do. They are our family and we can never turn our backs on them"

"No offense, Carmen" Ali said, shrugging Carmen's arm off her shoulders "But Aphrodite turned her back on ME first. I don't see why I shouldn't do the same"

There was a sharp knock on the door. Carmen and Ali looked up at another Aphrodite camper.

"Carmen? Mr. D is, like, looking for you"

Carmen nodded. As she got up, she reached for Ali's hand and squeezed.

"Smile, ok? If not for Aphrodite, then for us"

As Carmen left with the other girl, Ali looked out the window next to her bunk. Sighing she rested her head against the wall.

"Why Aphrodite? Anyone but Aphrodite"

"That's not a very nice thing to say" A new, slightly offended voice, said

Ali turned her head sidewards and her eyes widened.

Standing next to her bunk, in a white shimmery gown and her hair in big curls, was a frowning Aphrodite.


	10. Drawings in the sand

A/N: sorry this took so long! :(

Ali's eyes widened in surprise, despite the fact that she had never seen a god or goddess in the flesh before, she could tell this woman was an immortal.

Ali stood up, staring apprehensively at the woman.

The goddess frowned "You don't even know your own mother when you see her?"

Ali's eyebrows went up "Aphrodite?"

The goddess gave her a dazzling smile. She waved her hand gracefully and a golden chair decorated with diamonds and pearls rose up from the cabin floor. Aphrodite sat down on her throne and crossed her legs.

"Did you want something?" Ali asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Her momentary shock of being faced with a real immortal now wearing off, she began to realize that this was the woman who had abandoned her.

The goddess stopped smiling "You aren't happy, Alithra?"

"Should I be?" Ali asked

"Well I think you should" Aphrodite replied, irritation underlined in her voice "After all, I have claimed you"

"Yeah, _claimed_" Ali scoffed "What am I, A Mercedes Benz that got towed and that you're coming to collect after 17 years?"

Aphrodite sighed "I left because-"

"Thanks but no thanks" Ali cut her off "I'm not interested to know why you didn't want to stick around"

"I left because I had to!" Aphrodite said loudly, rising from her chair, all grace and poise gone "How can you be so stubborn that you refuse to listen to your mother!"

Ali stared coldly back at her "You aren't my mother"

And with that, she left the room, leaving Aphrodite fuming and staring at her retreating back.

Out of the cabin, Ali looked around to find a place she could go to. Amongst the other side of the cabins she could make out a faint outline if blue. Figuring that it was a beach, she decided to go there. One hand covering her eyes from the sunlight, she walked towards the beach. Once there, she sat down on the sand and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"So, I heard you've upset our mother"

Ali looked to her left just as a guy around his early twenties sat down next to her. He had curly blonde hair, green eyes, and was wearing checkered shorts, a green Lacoste shirt, and flip flops. He had a golden bow strapped to his back.

Ali stared at him "Our mother? You're not…" She glanced at his bow again "Cupid?"

Cupid nodded and smiled "Didn't expect me to be so handsome did you?"

Ali smiled a bit "No, I didn't"

Cupid stretched out his legs and crossed one over the other "Honestly I didn't expect you to be so pretty either. When mother came back to Olympus ranting about how one of her demigod daughters had upset her, I thought for sure she finally found a daughter that was…uh… less then attractive"

"So she's not still in the cabin, waiting for me to come back so she can blast me to pieces?"

"Nah" Cupid said "So, what did you do?"

Ali looked at the horizon and sighed "I told her I didn't consider my mother since she abandoned me"

"Ahh" Cupid said, laughing "The demigod syndrome"

Ali looked at him again "What?"

"It happens to all demigods, Ali" Cupid replied "Trust me, for you guys, this is a normal thing"

"All demigods hate their immortal parents?" Ali asked, drawing shapes in the sand with her pointer finger

"At one point or another" Cupid answered "But they get over it"

"I don't think I ever will" Ali said, looking down at what she had drawn. It was a broken heart. Cupid reached out his own pointer finger and ran it gently through the cracks of the heart. When he had finished, the heart was whole again.

"Trust me, Ali" He said, looking at her, his green eyes sparkling in the sunlight "You will"


	11. Fear the arrows

Ali smiled at him

"So… what is so great about being a daughter of Aphrodite?"

"Are you kidding me?" Cupid said, sitting up straighter, "What's not to like about it?"

Ali raised an eyebrow skeptically

"Okay" Cupid said "You won't be as brainy as the Athena kids but you won't have extreme fits of uncontrolled violence like Ares' children and yeah, you won't be as good as healing as the kids of Apollo but at least you won't feel the need to steal, or as the Hermes kids call it, "borrow" everything and anything at the village grocery store. But judging from your family background I don't think you've ever or will ever have to steal to get something you wanted"

"Anyway" Ali said, rolling her eyes as he grinned at her, "Don't I have, like, special powers or something? Or am I just supposed to sit around and look pretty?"

"Well, have you ever managed to talk people into giving you something or doing what you wanted even though it was completely inconvenient for them?"

Ali thought for a moment then she nodded.

"There you go" Cupid said "That's charm talk"

"Charm talk?" Ali repeated "That's a power? Getting people to do what I want?"

"Yup" Cupid replied, getting up, "A very good power too, if you ask me"

Ali followed his lead and also stood up "Are you leaving?"

Cupid smiled and nodded "Lots of people who need to fall in love you know"

"You really do that then?" Ali asked "You fire your arrows at two people and they fall in love?"

Cupid smiled at her knowingly, "Want a demonstration? I'm sure I can find someone for you… a certain son of Hades perhaps?"

Ali's eyes widened and she stuttered "W-what? I mean… Nico? Eww!"

Cupid laughed and pointed at his flustered younger sister "I see everything, sis"

Ali opened her mouth to argue but in a flash of gold light, Cupid was gone.

"There you are!" A voice called behind her

Ali turned around and saw Rachel walking towards her

"Hey Rach" Ali said as her friend reached her "Have you been looking for me?"

Rachel nodded "Chiron told me to tell you that camp activities officially start tomorrow so you should familiarize yourself with camp today"

Rachel stuck out her hand "Come on"

Ali took her hand and they began walking back. As they walked Ali told Rachel about her spat with Aphrodite and about meeting Cupid (She left out the part about Nico though).

"So, is Cupid hot?"

Ali stopped walking and stared at her "That is so GROSS! He's my brother!"

"I was kidding!" Rachel cried, lightly shoving Ali.

Ali laughed and enveloped Rachel in a hug

"I'm so glad I have you, Rach" She said quietly "I don't think I'll fit in here"

Rachel smiled at her as they broke apart "Sure you will. I mean, Nico already seems taken by you"

Ali rolled her eyes and hooked her arm around Rachel's as they began walking to the big house

"Are you kidding me?"

"Oh come on, Ali" Rachel said "Honestly I've never seen Nico so interested in a girl before"

"If interested is defined as bugging the hell out of someone and being an air head, then yes" Ali replied "Nico di Angelo is EXTREMELY interested in me"

Rachel laughed as they passed the cabins

"Seriously though" Ali said when they were out of ear shot from the other campers who were lounging about around their respective cabins "I don't get why he keeps bugging me"

"Maybe he just wants to be friends" Rachel answered as the big house came into view.

Ali snorted.

"There you are, Alithra" Chiron said from his position on the porch "Nico has just volunteered to give you the tour of camp"

Ali's eyes widened as Nico appeared from behind a pillar, smirking at Ali. He walked down the steps until he was face to face with her.

"Ready, Ali?"


	12. between the tree's

"This is the volleyball court and over there" Nico said, pointing across to the hills "Is Thalia's pine"

When Ali didn't say anything, He glanced around him. Ali was standing a good 3 feet away from him with her arms crossed over her chest. She wasn't looking at where he had just pointed and was in fact staring at him, her eyes slightly slanted.

"Something wrong, Ali?"

"What's your angle, Di Angelo?"

Nico stuffed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and smiled coyly "Angle? I don't have an angle"

"Don't play dumb with me" Ali said as she placed her hands on either side of her hips "Why would _you _volunteer to show me around camp?"

Nico shrugged "We all have to make the newbie's feel welcome, right?"

Ali crossed her arms over her chest again and began walking. As she passed him, she muttered "Let's get going then"

"Excited, huh?" Nico said, smiling, as he closely followed her.

Ali turned around and found herself face to face with him. She took a step back and swallowed. She had no idea why but being close to him sent her nerves into overdrive.

"I am not" Ali replied, trying to regain her cool, "I just want this over with so I can rid myself of you"

And with that she turned around again and started walking.

About 15 minutes later, they reached the mess hall and the end of the tour. Nico leaned against the banister and Ali stood in front of him. Ali glanced at the woods that lay across the mess hall. Nico followed her eyes.

"That's where we play capture the flag"

Ali looked at him "In the woods? But isn't it… creepy?"

Nico smiled at her "Scared, Ali?"

Ali glared at him "I am not scared"

Nico's smile only widened "Prove it then"

Ali's glare faltered a bit "What do you mean, prove it?"

"Go into the woods. Right now" Nico ordered, arms crossing over his chest.

Ali glanced at the forest then back at his smirking face. She felt her anger being riled up.

"I don't have to prove anything to you" She said shortly

Nico laughed. Ali couldn't believe he was taunting her. She looked at the woods again. It was still early on in the day and the sun was shining, how hard could it be right? Taking a deep breath, she walked towards the woods and didn't look back as she entered and disappeared between the trees.

After walking straight for about 20 paces, she looked back. The pavilion was still visible but Nico was no longer there. Irritated, Ali spun on her heels and began walking back.

"Figures" She ranted under her breath "He dares me to do something then doesn't even stick around to watch me do it. No good son of a-"

Ali was cut off when someone around the nearest tree grabbed her. Ali screamed but a hand cupped around her mouth as she was roughly pinned against a tree. She looked up and anger started bubbling up in her again. Staring down at her was Nico di Angelo.

Nico smiled down at her and removed his hand from her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ali demanded "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I was only going to congratulate you" Nico said, his voice barley over a whisper

Ali's eyes widened "Congratulate me? Why- HEY!"

She swallowed as Nico placed his hands on either sides of her body and leaned in close. So close that their noses were brushing against each other. Ali tried to move away but her body just brushed against his hands. There was no way out, she was trapped between him and the tree.

"L-let go of me" Ali demanded, her voice shaking.

Nico smiled at her and shook his head. He leaned in until his mouth was right next to her ear. Ali bit her bottom lip when he started whispering into her ear.

"Congratulations Ali Locard… You have officially caught my interest"

After giving her one last glance, Nico pulled away and disappeared among the trees leaving Ali still leaning against the tree, clutching her chest, her head spinning with shock and confusion.


	13. AN: hello!

Hello everyone! I know it's been a looonnngggg while but I promise to start updating more often now! :) please check back :)


	14. A helping hand

After Nico had left, Ali remained leaning against the tree and breathing heavily. Her head was buzzing.

"Caught his interest?" Ali muttered to herself as she ran a shaking hand through her hair. She had no idea what he had meant.

Maybe Nico di Angelo thought she'd make a good throw rug for the Hades cabin.

Ali swallowed and forced herself to calm down. Being close to him sent her senses into overdrive and made her lose her ability to think straight. She didn't like the effect he had on her. After a few more minutes of deep breathing, she willed herself to start walking back to the pavilion. Passing through the woods and noticing, for the first time, how peaceful it was made her feel homesick. True, woods were rare in New York where she had been raised but seeing all the trees reminded her of the times her father would take her out and they would take walks in central park. They did most of their father-daughter bonding during those walks.

The thoughts made her miss him.

Ali grew up with mostly just her father. He worked hard for them both and he always made sure to put a smile on his face whenever he was around his daughter but Ali could see past her father's smile. When she was old enough to understand that her mother had left them (Ali knew nothing except that about her), Ali was probably around 9 or 10, that was when she began to notice how her father's smiles rarely reached his eyes. His eyes, exact copies of her's, remained distant and sad. Ali knew that it was because of her mother. It was because of the woman that had left them, that had left him. That woman caused her father to feel such sadness. Ali guessed, because she never dared ask for fear that her father might have a breakdown of some sort, that her father loved the woman. Loved her so much that he still longed for her.

That thought had made Ali mad. How could he still love her, after she abandoned them? Ali could never understand it. So Ali hoped and wished that something would take his father's mind off the woman who had left them, that someone could take her place and prove better than her. When she was 13, Ali's prayers were answered.

Janice Richter was 3 years younger than her father, a 2nd generation American-German living in New York, and a socialite/magazine writer. Ali's father and Janice had met at a company thrown party that the magazine Janice worked for was covering. A year after that, they were married.

Ali couldn't believe it at first but Janice turned out to be everything she was hoping for; a stunner with long straight red hair, green eyes, and milky skin, Janice was fashionable(she greatly influenced Ali's choice of clothing), energetic(she loved going for runs and would often make Ali come along with her) and a great cook. Janice was also spontaneous which Ali loved because her father was strictly by-the-book. They balanced each other out and Ali couldn't have picked someone better for her father. As a mother, Janice was everything Ali had ever wanted; she was supportive, caring, and loving. Ali thought she and her father had finally bounced back from the emotional mess that her mother had left them in and for a while it was all good... until she was sent off to Clarions Ladies Academy.

She was 16 when her father decided it was time for her to enter Clarions. Ali refused from the beginning but her father was determined to send her. Janice could only offer her words of encouragement and promise. Ali's schooling had always been her father's decision, there wasn't much Janice could do to get him to change his mind and so Ali was sent off. It upset Ali that she wouldn't be able to see her family everyday. Still, she remained at school. At Clarions, she had a few acquaintances, people she ate lunch with but no one she could really call a friend. Somehow, Ali had felt detached from all of them. She despised being at Clarions, it gave her an uneasy feeling; like she wasn't safe. Ali never shared this with anyone, they'd call her a nutter. She knew because it wasn't normal to feel like someone was watching you and Ali felt it constantly, even before coming to Clarions. Maybe not while she was at home or in her dormitory at Clarions but sometimes when she was out on the streets on New York or by the woods near her finishing school, she felt it; eyes burning into her. She'd always look around during those moments but she never saw anyone and nothing serious ever happened... until a year after she had started at Clarions.

They had an assignment for biology; to pick one of the tree's in the wood by the school, to take photos of it, and explain it's markings. Ali didn't like the idea of going into the wood but she refused to let her unease control her into getting a failing mark. So she went in, right after classes that same day, well before sun down, with her disposable camera, a pad of paper, and a pencil. She didn't feel like going too far into the wood, the idea of being in the place she avoided the most was not appealing, so she made sure she could still see the school's dormitory building when she chose a tree. After she had picked one, she snapped 4 pictures and began observing and writing down the markings of the tree. It couldn't have been more than 5 minutes when she heard a rustling behind her and soft, hoarse voice that made her hair stand on end.

"_finally. I've been waiting for you, pretty"_

Ali had bolted, throwing the pad and pencil away in mad panic. She could hear that thing, whatever it was, running after her and murmuring things. The disposable camera was bouncing hard against her chest a dashed through the wood. For one horrible moment, the thing had caught up with her, she had felt its claw like hand grabbing at her school blazer and felt herself being slowed down. The thing was pulling her to a stop. In pure desperation, Ali grabbed the disposable camera, swung it by the strap from her neck and flung it backwards. It must have hit whatever was trying to get her because Ali suddenly felt the thing let go off her blazer and heard a pained howl. Picking up her speed, Ali hoped her camera had gotten the thing good. Finally, she could see the dormitory building clearer and bigger now. She was nearly out of the wood. Unfortunately, her camera attack had only managed to delay the monster from getting her, she could hear it coming closer and it sounded angry now.

"_Think you can get away? No, I've waited too long!" _

With her last ounce of energy, Ali made a desperate leap out of the wood and onto safer ground. She had landed badly and was sprawled on Clarion's backyard; a stretch of grass that separated the dormitory building from the wood. She heard an angry curse in a different language from the direction of the wood, sitting up and looking back she found nothing but tree's. A few seconds later, a girl, one of the new girls at school had come running out of the building. Her name was Rachel, she said, and she had just seen everything from her dormitory window.

"OUCH!"

Ali was snapped back to reality when something hard collided with her. Just like the fateful day she had been recalling, she ended up on the ground. Looking up, Ali watched a group of four well-built and mean looking guys jogging by. One of them had "ARIZ" tattooed on his arm.

"Watch where you're going, wimp!" The tattooed guy yelled as they jogged away. Ali opened her mouth to argue but was distracted by a hand coming into her line of vision. Focusing her gaze on the person the hand was attached to, Ali was greeted by the sight of a boy with brown hair and the most brilliant sea green eyes she had ever seen in her life.

"Don't bother, you can't win an argument with a child of Ares. They tend to turn verbal debates into physical one's. Need a hand?"

Ali nodded and grabbed his outstretched hand, he pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks" Ali said, dusting herself off. The boy smiled at her, "Rough first day?"

Ali nodded again, "You could say that".

Again, the boy smiled "Mine wasn't much better" He stuck out his hand again "I'm Percy Jackson"


End file.
